Minimum wage increased one dollar in October

TBILISI, DFWatch — The minimum wage has increased by about one dollar in October compared to September, 2012, according to Georgia’s National Statistics Department.

According to GeoStat, the minimum wage for men of working age has increased from USD 89.7 to USD 90.7; for the average consumer it is USD 80.4; for the average family the minimum wage is now USD 152.2.

The increase in minimum wage is caused by rising prices for first aid products.

According to GeoStat, prices for fruits and grapes has increased by 3 percent; bread and bread products – 1.8 percent; milk, cheese and eggs – 1.6 percent. However, the prices has decreased for fish products by 4.3 percent.

Prices for fuel products have also decreased by 3.1 percent, while private transport exploitation has seen a 2.5 percent fall in prices.

But in fact, the prices in the market have not decreased.

When it comes to the minimum wage, even though these are official statistics, the indicators are in fact higher, and experts have for the last years disputed the government on this issue and tried to calculate the real indicators. However, budget expenses in the social sector are related to the minimum wage; therefore the government has avoided revealing the real numbers.

The new government which came in place after the parliamentary election in October claims that these indicators will be revised.